Improvement in trunk-lock guards



J. W. G. HASKELL. Trunk-Lock Guardv No. 214,252 Patented April 15, 1879.

Fiy-Z I NVENTOB UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

JOHN W. C. HASKELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT lN TRUNK-LOCK GUARDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 214,252, dated April 15, 1879; application filed February 17, 1879.

To 'all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN W. G. HASKELL, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trunk-Lock Guards, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, which will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the said improvements, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which Figure 1 is a front view of a guard or fixture embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a section in the plane of the line 00 as; Fig. 3, a section in the plane of the line 3 y,- Fig. 4, a front view of the guard detached, showing a modification in the construction thereof; and Fig. 5, a section in the plane of the line 2 2.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

The chief object of my invention is to make a trunk guard or fixture to protect that class of trunk-locks which project or stand outfrom the face of the trunk sufliciently to be exposed to injury by the rough treatment which trunks usually receive while being shipped from place to place.' I also aim to protect both the lock and the lid from lateral strains, all of which will be hereinafter particularly described and specifically set forth.

In the drawings, A represents a lock of the class hereinbefore referred to. My invention does not relate to the construction of the lock proper, and I have selected for the purpose of illustrating the utility of my improvements a well-known lock, which I will briefly describe in order to indicate how my invention maybe applied to use in connection with such locks,

or looks similarly exposed.

The look A consists of a leaf, metallic strap, or hasp, B, hinged at its lower end to a plate, C, secured to the body of the trunk. The upper end of the hasp B carries the lock deviee,.

purpose the button will engage the said plate,

when the trunk will be locked, and the key may be removed. It is to be understood, of course, that the trunk may be unlocked by .turning the button in the opposite direction.

As locks of this class are well known, and as my invention relates in no way to the construction thereof, I have shown in the drawings only so much of the lockas is visible when it is applied to the trunk, that being suffioient to illustrate the nature and object of my invention.

It will be perceived, especially by reference to Fig. 2, that the edges of the hasp B project much from the face or body of the trunk, and that the hasp is therefore exposed to lateral blows and strains, which is to a great degree resisted by the hinge.

D is the guard or fixture which I employ in connection with the lock for the purposes hereinbefore set forth. This guard consists of a metallic rim or frame, made independently of the look A, and in two parts, a and a, one to be applied firmly to the lid of the trunk and the other to the body. This guard is open or slotted to receive the parts to be protected by it, and arranged about the hasp B and. its hinge-plate, as shown, the interior edges of the guard being as high or about as high as the exterior edges of the parts inclosed by it. The outer parts or edges of the guard are beveled off, as indicated, so as to ward off or diminish the force of lateral blows which it may receive.

The parts a a may be fastened to the trunk in any suitable way, and when made and arranged in the manner shown and described, they will, as will be clearly perceived, greatly guard and protect the lock Afrom injury, and in no way interfere with the opening and closing of the trunk. When the hinge-plate of the hasp P has outer edges irregular in form, and the guard is fitted thereto, the guard also aids or relieves the fastenings which secure the hasp to the trunk, for it is obvious that the hasp cannot be drawn vertically out of the hinge-plate when the latter is so engaged. Also, in an attempt to pry open the trunk, the upper end of the hasp would, in like manner, be to a great extent prevented from being drawn from its engagement with the plate en tered by the button hereinbefore referred to.

2 2l lq252 For these reasons I deem it preferable, though not absolutely essential, to make both the hasp and its hinge-plate with irregular outer edges, and to fit the guard l) thereto, substantially as shown, or, in other words, to make the guard engage or interlock the lock proper, to which it may be applied or in connection with which it may be employed.

The mere fact of the lock A being surrounded by a metallic guard is a great protection to the lock in many respects, and I do not therefore here intend to restrict myself to the precise form of guard herein shown and described.

As a further feature of my invention, 1 make on the lower ends ofthe part a the downwardlyextending tenons b b, and I make the upper ends of the part a to receive these tenons, as shown at I) b, thus tending to prevent or aid in the prevention of lateral strains both upon the hasp I and upon the lid or cover of l. The metallic open or slotted guard for trunk'locks, the said guard consisting of two parts, a and a, one applied to the body or lower part of the trunk and the other to the upper part or lid, the said guard having beveled outer edges, and the said parts being arranged substantially as described with relation to each other and the lock, for the purposes set forth.

2. The trunk-lock guard D, consisting of two metallic parts, a and a, one of the said parts having on its ends the tenons 0r dowels b b, and the other of the said parts being adapted to receive the said tenons, the said parts having beveled outer edges, and being arranged substantially as shown with relation to each other and the lock.

JOHN W. C. HASKELL.

Witnesses:

F. F. WARNER, II. (I. BALLARI). 

